My Challenge from Oprah

I'm not usually an avid Oprah watcher, but on occasion I'll watch if I'm home and it sounds interesting to me.  Last night Barbara Walters did a special with Oprah.  I was curious, so Pat and I watched.  For the most part it was a typical "BW Special" interview, and pretty interesting.  There was one moment, however, that made my heart stop.  In a good way!  She said that when she prays, "I ask God to use me until I am used up."

Now I'm not going to go into Oprah's personal spiritual life, but that statement was amazing.  What if we all prayed that statement?  Not just said it like we say other phrases in prayer without even thinking, but really, REALLY meant it?

Can I honestly pray that?  Am I really willing to let God use me up?  Am I willing to give back to Him all the things that He gave me?

Are you?

What if we lived this out?  What if we looked at what we have to offer, small or large, and put those gifts to use?

I am challenged!  I am so glad that I watched and have a new prayer!

Thank you, Oprah!

Busy Month full of Thanks!

 After a somewhat humorously long wait for our Turkey to cook, we did finally sit down for our simple and "small" Thanksgiving Dinner.  It wasn't small in the amount of food, but rather in the amount of company.  We typically gather with friends for this festive day, but we chose to spend the day at home, just us, this year.  Actually it was a "plan b" after we discovered that Salvation Army had enough volunteers to serve their meal.  It was a very laid-back day that we enjoyed thoroughly!  We had no worries about eating Gluten-Free, and no one was put out to fix anything special!  So easy.  It was also the first day that we didn't have freezing rain in a while, so I was also thankful to be able to take a walk with my dogs!  It did begin to snow these extremely wet, slushy snowflakes, and I returned home completely soaked, but it was beautiful and worth it!

We have been extra busy getting ready for our debut Arts and Crafts Fair!  Well, technically, I had done a crafts bazaar a few weeks ago, but this was a very large event with over 165 vendors.
We worked hard to make enough inventory for our Alaska to Africa Project.  We had no idea what kind of goal to set, so we just rolled with it.  God blessed us so much in this project!  We were able to make about 90 pieces to sell and we sold about 75!  We have been able to put all the profits from these sales to Drawn From Water (If you aren't familiar with this organization, please take a look!).  God so blessed us those two days after Thanksgiving!  In all my disdain for "Black Friday" I was thankful for others who took the time to go shop and then purchased with a purpose at our booth!  We were able to raise over $1,500 for DFW, and we still have orders coming in!  Praise God!  Plus, we were able to share about the organization and hopefully bring others into the joy of helping them.  It was amazing to hear about all the connections people in our small community had to Africa.  It was really encouraging!  We met missionaries, adoptive families, and many others who had friends in Africa.  We hope this is just the first of many years of being able to help through the Craft Fair!

Now that things are possibly slowing down, I am continuing to look forward to my days at Love, INC.  Again, if you haven't heard of this organization, please check it out!  They are local organizations (that operate nationally) that help to coordinate churches to help neighbors in need.  I am helping with taking phone calls, and I love it!  I'm also hoping to start some budget counselling (I am not a counselor, but I have successfully operated both larger and smaller budgets!).
 I also can't wait to go shopping for some food boxes that we hope will help homeless teens get though the school break over Christmas.  Our Church Youth Pastor challenged us this week to "Do One Thing."  Pat and I cannot do just one thing.  I can't imagine anyone who has the life of Christ in them to stop at just one thing.  We are praying about what God may have us do for these kids beyond the food boxes.  Kids should not be homeless and hopeless anywhere in the world.

I asked my husband what he thought our next year would bring.  Neither of us have a clue, but we are really excited!  God has blown open the doors of our hearts and pushed us to action in ways I'd have never dreamed.  I am so thankful for every small thing and every small opportunity we have to share.

Thankful for My Morning Coffee Wake-up!

This morning I prayed for my husband as he left for work.  To be more accurate, I prayed out loud while I gave him his hug goodbye.  I rarely do this.  In fact, I think it's been years since I have done it last.  How sad.  I'm going to try to do it more often.

I am extremely thankful for the man God brought me with which to spend my life.

People are often shocked that I get up early to make my husband's lunch and see him off to work.  Right now this means getting up at 5:30.  Actually, he comes in with a fresh cup of coffee to wake me up!  Not too bad, really. He is up around 4:45 and gets the fire going, feeds the dogs, and has his quiet time. I often get looks that say, "Are you serious?" followed by the, "I would NEVER do that!" to which I usually think to myself, "That is why your marriage isn't as good as mine."

That may sound extremely pompous, but if you aren't willing to get up a little early for your spouse, are you really living in unity?  Are you giving as much of yourself to your professed loved one as you are expecting in return?  Why would you draw a line of "never" to the one to whom you vowed to love?  This always confuses me.  I would do anything for my husband, the least of which includes making his lunch in the morning and getting to start the day together.

Now, granted, I have an incredibly amazing husband who is not only an excellent provider, but also a gifted leader.  He lives surrendered to God, and I can trust him to follow Him!  This makes living in submission to each other much easier.

Notice I didn't say easy.  I'm still a human and become selfish more than I'd like to admit.  I'm also not necessarily saying everyone should do exactly what I do.  Your spouse may not care a whit about the morning send-off, but I'd bet there is something that does matter to him/her.  Usually it is something relatively small, fairly painless, and could move mountains if done regularly!  I'd also like to point out that discouraging and ridiculing someone else's act of love is highly reflective of your own level of loving.  Just saying.

If God called you to be married, then this is your act of service to Him, not necessarily your spouse.  I take the verse in Luke 16:10 to apply to marriage as well, though that takes it a bit out of context!  If I can't be faithful to show my husband love in small ways, how on earth can we hold up in hard times?   Being faithful to love each other in small ways will lay the foundation of Godly strength when the storms come.  My marriage is a huge testimony of what I really believe about God.  I know I've failed before, but in God's continuing story of redemption and second chances, I have an opportunity to let God shine through my marriage.

I love the chance to talk about what I do for my husband.  It gives me an opportunity to share how far God has brought me.  It reminds me of the gift I have and my responsibility to care for that gift.  I also hope it encourages others to give more of themselves, and then they can experience the sweet joys of selflessness.

Time for my second cup of java joy!  (O.K., my 3rd!)

Birthday's

I celebrate birthdays.

In a random google search, and from some J.W. friends, I have learned that birthday celebrations had strong pagan origins and that these celebrations weren't exactly Biblically sanctioned!  

I still celebrate birthdays!

I like to think that my God is not legalistic about where celebrations originated and that if I want to take a day to thank Him for what I have and ask Him to lead me through the next year; well, I believe He is honored in that.  I don't believe that when people give me a "Happy Birthday," they are warding off evil spirits or that a candle-filled cake honors any greek goddess.  I genuinely believe it is all just a sign of goodwill.  And on that note, I will take it!  

I do wish, however, that I could pass on the increasing amount of gray in my hair.  I know, seriously shallow and vain.  I have found some slight pleasure in knowing that my husband now has some of his own:

 You see that big light hair in his goatee?  It's the fat gray one!  You have no idea the excitement I had this night!  Obviously, I had to get the camera and document this momentous event!

Sadly, I am winning this contest.  Pat must be thinking golf score.  I wish I could convince my follicles to play that way.

Oh well.  If this is the worse thing in my life (and it's pretty high up there) then that is a testament to how amazingly blessed my life has been these 34 years.  I have to admit, I don't stress about much.  In fact, I rarely stress.  This last year has opened my eyes and heart to so much, and I am a little apprehensive but extremely excited to see where this knowledge takes me.  Ten years ago my life changed.  Eight and a half years ago my life became combined with another's and change has been my constant!  I have no idea what lies ahead, but I know that change has been good to me and I will celebrate this change in my age!

Now then, perhaps I need to change that hair color...

GIVEAWAY!

You could win this!  All you have to do is link to this post (on the Alaska to Africa blog) from your facebook page or blog, or become a follower, and get the word out that we are taking orders for Christmas.  Remember that all proceeds will go to help others this Christmas who have no mom or dad to care for them, much less give them a gift.  Make your purchases count.

 This 12"x7" layered cross will be the only one made, specifically for this event!  It is a beautiful blued steel background (blue/purple color comes from a careful heat treatment) with a brushed bright steel front. Help us help the fatherless this Christmas.

Don't forget to tell us that you linked up by email, commenting, or facebook!

Oh, and the winner of this unique cross will have this shipped anywhere in the U.S. in time for Christmas giving!  If you happen to live outside of the U.S., we will try our best!  We will announce the winner on December 12th.

THE MOCKINGBIRD PARABLES by Matt Litton (Book Review)

My husband is an artist and I am not.  When I see a piece of art or hear music I enjoy, I just know I really like it.  Because of who he is, he can explain why it is a good art or music piece.  I feel the same with this book.  I feel like Mr. Litton has illuminated the reasons why "To Kill a Mockingbird" is such a great piece of literature.  Especially from my Christian world-view.

It is clearly articulated in the beginning that the author in no way attributes his thoughts to Ms. Lee.  Mr. Litton is taking a revered story and sees it through his Christian lenses and states just as much.  What is amazingly wonderful, is that Mr. Litton has expertly taken the simple and basic tenants of what Jesus taught and shows us where they permeate this timeless story.  As I read through the parables, I was sadly reminded of how timeless the issues of racism, both skin color and economic, really are.  I was reminded of what it means to be a neighbor and what true courage and love really look like, not necessarily what Christians exude.  It made me remember that my actions are truly what define what I say I believe and are noticed specifically by children.

I loved this book, partly because I love "To Kill a Mockingbird."  I love it because it brought me to a place of realization of why I love Lee's novel, but also because the messages in Mr. Litton's parables are truth.  Some are hard truths and convicting truths, but truth nonetheless based on God's Word.  I would certainly recommend this book to others.  It is an easy read and very applicable for book clubs.  I wish I could discuss it with others!

Uncomfortably Happy

I'm skipping all the way down to the last night I was in Kansas.  My awesome brother-in-law suggested that his wife and I take a "time-out" together!  We chose our usual place - Olive Garden!  We also chose our usual hot chocolate, but splurged and looked at the desserts.  We chose not one, but two delectable dishes: a pumpkin cheesecake and a decadent chocolate dessert.  

We were pretty giddy with all the sugary delights!  

Of course we ate/drank it all!  It was a feat we were determined to conquer.  

We came.  We ate.  We conquered.

We were uncomfortable.

We were happy!

My sister has also put herself out there to be uncomfortable in order to follow her Lord.  She and I have both been moved to encourage others to push themselves out of their comfort zone if/when God calls us to do so, which He does extremely often in Scripture.  He calls us to reach out to the outcasts, love our enemies, be persecuted for His names' sake: these are all uncomfortable.  When we really live the way Jesus talks about, we will look very different from others and this can be hard.  She is there right now. 

Where am I?  I just spent the last couple weeks with my husband, albeit physically demanding weeks cutting firewood for winter.  I was able to come home to my nice house with warm wood heat (and a gas heater for back-up!); nice cozy furniture in which to curl up while I watch a little T.V. or peruse the internet; and we just finished the new kitchen cabinets/counter top.  I live in luxury.  I live in a very comfortable place.  Now, I'm not just talking about my physical conditions.  I live in an immense amount of security.  I do not fear for my life when I fill my glass with clean drinking water as opposed to young girls filling their jugs with dirty water from a water pit several miles away.  I'm able to go to the pantry and get a snack when I am hungry when others are immensely grateful for a single bowl of rice and beans for a meal that may be their only one for a few days.  

I spent the last year on a "clothes fast."  I did not allow myself to buy any clothing (except for 3 items of the undergarment variety) for an entire year.  Actually, it will be a year sometime around Thanksgiving.  One might think that this would be positioning myself to be uncomfortable.  Sadly, it was really easy.  I have a ton of clothes.  In fact, I gave away half my closet during this year.  I may not dress in the latest fashions, but I hardly lack in adequate clothing.  

My husband and I felt like we needed to increase our giving and we set up a new way to substantially do this.  When you decide to drastically change your spending habits, you usually feel some discomfort.  Again, this has been strangely easy.  It seems our finances are more than adequate for our daily necessities.  This may sound a bit arrogant and I know, know that our finances may not always provide our needs.  We have been there before; stretching every paycheck week to week.  We have learned through those times, however, that when things are going good, we must prepare for lean times.  This not only helps us, but enables us to help others.

I have quit my job in order to be more available to serve my husband, my community, and anyone else God asks me to serve.  This has been a little more uncomfortable.  I have discovered that I am less excited to follow the direct commands of my husband during a home work project than I was from my former boss.  I had previously prided myself on having tough skin and letting things roll off.  That doesn't seem to carry over to my husband!  I'm also finding it difficult to stay on task when I'm working on projects at home when at work I was an extremely focused worker.  Some of this is to be expected, but I feel a bit out of my element.  This is hardly an extreme form of discomfort, I have to admit.  

I'm wondering if God is preparing me.  I know He doesn't waste time and I have seen how He prepared my sister and has begun His work through her and her family.  This leads me to believe my time is coming!  As daunting as this may be, I am excited!  I have learned that if I really want to experience God, it will happen in those moments of being uncomfortable and stretched.  If I can do it all on my own, it's not really His power on which I rely or see.  I want to see more of Him.  

Sometimes, being uncomfortable can be a very happy thing!